There are some Sunday mornings in my house which are less than holy. As a matter of fact, they are downright ugly, and I know Satan is all up in my house. I’ve often thought of getting up early, grabbing some type of holy water whether it’s Lysol or oil, and sprinkle my household, praying at every door and window. What I don’t think Satan has realized yet, is the harder he tries on Sunday morning, the more determined I am to get to church because my little darlings go to small group. I go to my small group, and we return to each other in a much better frame of mind and focus. I am confident that spiritual warfare is the most active in most Christian homes on Sunday morning.
So how do you know if what you are going through is Spiritual Warfare or consequences of sin? Sometimes they feel a lot alike. Let’s look at Jesus’ example. He endured Spiritual Warfare, and these are a few things, I noticed:
1. John had baptized Jesus.
a. You become a threat to Satan when you become a child of God. Jesus was always God even while in the flesh, but at His baptism, He was publicly acknowledge to be God’s Son.
b. If you have made a public stand of faith whether at home, church, work or school, you are a threat to Satan, and you will undergo spiritual warfare.
2. Dr. Luke tells us Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. Mountain top experience often results in Spiritual Warfare.
3. He was led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness. Mark even went so far as to say, “the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.”
a. Ask yourself – Have I been walking so closely with God that I have followed the Spirit into this situation?
b. Ask yourself – When was the last time I prayed, studied God’s word, worshiped Him?
c. Why would the Holy Spirit lead anyone into a wilderness knowing they would be tempted? While Jesus did not need to grow in His faith, He is our example. Spiritual Warfare is one of the ways faith may be caused to grow.
If you know you’ve been walking closely with God, spending time with Him, then there’s a good chance, it is spiritual warfare.
d. When you make decisions in your life, do you seek God first, or are you impulsive and reactionary in nature?
e. When you are faced with a problem, do you do what makes sense, or do you look for God’s hand before making a decision?
f. Look at those who are your confidants. Are they spiritually mature people giving you sound advice based on Biblical principles? In other words, are your closest friends walking close to God and growing in their faith? If they aren’t and you take their advice, you may be suffering consequences of sin.
4. Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.
a. While fasting draws us closer to God, it’s also a time of weakness and vulnerability because you are denying your physical wants and desires, and Satan knows exactly how to use that against us. While Jesus was all God when clothed in flesh, He still had fleshly needs.
b. Fasting brings the believer into submission to God’s will. Yet another reason Satan attacks.
c. If you have been fasting for spiritual reasons and difficulty arises, then it’s probably spiritual warfare.
There is no choice or decision Jesus made that would cause Him to suffer consequences for sin. He did, however, take on all of our sin when He hung on the cross.
People do make mistakes. People react. People make choices without thinking and even more importantly without praying for God’s guidance and His will.
When you buy things that are not in the budget, when you eat and are not hungry, when you choose an unhealthy lifestyle, when you choose to talk about people behind their backs – these are all choices you make. None of those choices are in-line with godly living. And this is not an all-inclusive list either.
Do you make a poor choice, and then tell people you are under spiritual warfare? No, you are under the consequences of your sin. Own it. Repent. Get right with God.
But girlfriend, if you are in spiritual warfare, draw closer to God, have prayer warriors praying for you, find a godly, growing Christian girlfriend that will hold you accountable, and dig deep. We know who is victorious. Romans 8 tells us everything we need to know about who has the power and dominion and who will be more than conquerors. So girlfriends, I challenge you to fight the good fight on your knees. God’s got you.